


Three Birthdays

by mikkimouse



Series: Tumblr Fics [168]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Birthday, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 06:02:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12475076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikkimouse/pseuds/mikkimouse
Summary: Two times Shiro wished Keith a happy birthday from far away, and one time he was there to do it in person.





	Three Birthdays

**Author's Note:**

> Written because today (October 23--at least, it's still October 23 in my timezone) is Keith's birthday, and, well, this idea hit me over the head last night and I just had to get it done.
> 
> Thank you to my lovelies [domesticated-chaos](https://tmblr.co/mDI2jfW1IoxXaOjtxidJKwQ) and [cobrilee](https://tmblr.co/mEUCj6anMc7s-o9X9Y0blvQ) for the beta read. <3
> 
> Originally posted to Tumblr [here.](https://mad-madam-m.tumblr.com/post/166728264715/three-birthdays)

**-One-**

Keith ducked into his dorm room and pulled out his phone. The message was from an unknown contact, and he had no idea who would be sending him a video. There was only one person who might, and that person was halfway across the solar system by now.

He tapped the icon, and a second later, Shiro's face filled the screen. 

Keith's heart stopped.

Shiro waved. "Hey, Keith! I know I said I wasn't supposed to contact you, but I couldn't let your birthday pass without wishing you a happy one. I'm not exactly sure how long this message will take to get back to you, but I think it should hit Earth on the right day. Or so Matt tells me, anyway."

Keith's hands shook, and he sank like a stone onto his dorm bed. Shiro had remembered. Shiro was on his way to freaking _Pluto_ and he'd still remembered Keith's birthday.   


Shiro grinned so wide it filled the screen. "So, happy birthday! I hope you're having a good one. If you ask for Tanya in the mess hall, she should give you some cake." He winked. "Tell her I sent you."   


Keith smiled to himself. Of course Shiro knew who to ask to get birthday cake at the Garrison. He'd probably charmed half the kitchen staff within his first year here. 

Shiro sighed and looked off to the right. "I wish you could be out here. You'd love it. It's amazing, and I can't wait to tell you everything when I get back. Or, well, as much as I can without the Garrison coming after me." 

Shiro laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, and when he focused again on the camera, his smile was smaller, but no less genuine. It was the smile that made Keith's heart flip every time.

"Happy birthday, Keith. I miss you, and I'll see you again soon." 

The message ended, freezing on Shiro's smiling face. 

Keith touched the screen, fighting his own stupid grin. He hadn't seen Shiro or heard his voice since the Kerberos mission had left almost two months ago, and he'd been certain he _wouldn't_ hear from him until he returned. 

But Shiro had found a way. 

It was the best birthday present Keith had ever gotten. 

"I miss you, too," Keith whispered. "And thank you, Shiro."  


**-Two-**

_One year later_

"Hey, Keith!" 

Keith closed his eyes and rested his head on the arm of the couch, curled up under an old, scratchy blanket, listening to the video play.

"I know I said I wasn't supposed to contact you, but I couldn't let your birthday pass without wishing you a happy one. I'm not sure exactly how long this message will take to get back to you, but I think it should hit Earth on the right day. Or so Matt tells me, anyway."

He couldn't count how many times he'd watched this video. Probably hundreds in the weeks after he'd gotten it. 

Then the news came back that the Kerberos mission was lost, and he hadn't watched it since. He couldn't. 

"So, happy birthday! I hope you're having a good one. If you ask for Tanya in the mess hall, she should give you some cake. Tell her I sent you."

But he couldn't make himself delete it, either. 

Not that watching it _now_ was a great idea. But after months out here alone, he just...needed to hear Shiro's voice. Needed to remember that someone had cared about his birthday, once. 

Had cared about _him_.

"I wish you could be out here. You'd love it. It's amazing, and I can't wait to tell you everything when I get back. Or, well, as much as I can without the Garrison coming after me." 

Keith's throat tightened, hot and painful, and he opened his eyes to watch the last little bit. 

Shiro smiled at him from the tiny screen. "Happy birthday, Keith. I miss you, and I'll see you again soon." 

Hot tears pricked the corners of his eyes, and Keith clutched the phone to his chest and pulled the blanket over his head. 

_I'll see you again soon._

It was the last promise Shiro had ever made him, and the first one he'd ever broken. 

**-Three-**

_One year later_

"What are you watching?" 

Keith nearly jumped out of his skin at Shiro's voice, and fumbled to hide his phone. "Nothing! It's nothing." 

Shiro blinked and held up his hands. "Okay, I get it. Private. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried." 

"No, that's not..." Keith dragged his hand through his hair. His cheeks were hot. "I don't know if you remember, but you sent me a message while you were on the Kerberos mission." 

To his surprise, Shiro's eyes widened in recognition. "Yeah. I remember. You still have that?" 

Keith shrugged. _It was the only birthday message I got that year_ and _It was the last thing I had of you when the mission disappeared_ both sounded too honest, so he just said, "Yeah, of course I do." 

Shiro held out his hand. "Do you mind if I watch it?" 

Part of him wanted to keep it private, but...this was Shiro. Keith shook his head and handed over the phone. 

Shiro tapped the phone, and Keith heard the message spring to life. He could practically recite it by heart at this point, but this time, he watched Shiro's reaction, the complicated shifting of emotions on his face that Keith couldn't identify. 

"Wow," Shiro said once the message was over. "Did it get there in time?" 

Keith nodded. "Yeah. Got it right after classes were over for the day. You timed it perfectly."

The corner of Shiro's mouth twitched up in a sad smile. "I always wondered. I knew you probably wouldn't be able to respond, but...I really hoped it made it through." 

It sounded like there was more under the words, more that Shiro wasn't saying, but Keith knew better than to push. "You were right, you know."

Shiro looked up from the phone. "About what?" 

Keith gestured around them. "That I would love it out here. In space." 

Shiro snorted. "You love fighting in an intergalactic war?" 

Keith swatted his shoulder and took his phone back. "I love flying. And exploring. And being part of doing something good. Don't you?" 

The sadness left Shiro's face, and his smile was the same soft one that Keith knew so well. "Yeah. I do." He cleared his throat. "Which reminds me, that's why I came looking for you." 

Keith frowned. "Because...flying?" 

"No." Shiro pulled a package out of his pocket. "Because it's your birthday." 

Keith's heart stuttered, and he stared at the package. "You got me a present?" 

Shiro flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, considering I've missed the last two, I wanted to get you _something_."

Keith took the slim package and opened it. Inside were two leather bands, one black and one red, each with a silver disk on the end. He touched one, and they both glowed faintly green. 

"The Olkari made them," Shiro said. "The disks are made from something they call twinstar. When they're activated, they act like homing beacons. One can always find the other, no matter the distance." 

Keith's chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. 

"I mean, you've done a pretty good job of finding me without them," Shiro said. "But I thought...this might make it easier." 

Keith threw his arms around Shiro and hid his face in Shiro's shirt.

"I...take it you like them?" Shiro asked. 

Keith didn't trust himself to talk right then, so he just nodded. 

Shiro's arms settled around him, holding him close. "Good," he said into Keith's hair. "I like knowing that I can find my way back to you." 

Keith smiled so hard it hurt. "You always have." 

"Happy birthday, Keith." 

"Thank you, Shiro."

It was easily the best birthday Keith had ever had. 

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for the matching necklaces with homing beacons was the half-joking response my friend Kalira gave when I asked her for some ideas for a birthday present Shiro might give to Keith. It was _way_ too perfect to pass up. Thank you, dear!  <3
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://mad-madam-m.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/mad_madam_m)!


End file.
